Spilled coffee down my white top 10 mins into the day ✅ Gained a new nickname from pastoral team ✅ Still not entirely sure what I'm doing tomorrow ✅ Standard INSET day!
Hayley Simpkin
@pipkinzoo.bsky.social
KS3- KS4 Jack of All (Science) Trades, KS5 Biology and Applied Science in the East Midlands. Previously all of the above plus SEMH and vocational/school farms bod.
Modelling learning when you learn pupils' names: whoteacheslanguages.blogspot.com/2022/09/lear...
Learning pupils' names - modelling learning
Two weeks in and I have learned the names of my five Year 9 groups and my two Year 7 groups. Very deliberately, and using it to talk to pup...
whoteacheslanguages.blogspot.com
I'll never tire of the bemused looks from other adults when they see you chatting happily to a group of slightly sketchy-looking teenagers (year 9 boys playing Bogies in a covered car park "the echo is great, miss").
🚨 THIS IS NOW A NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY WARNING we warned was inevitable if we left the EU!!! The FSA is telling pregnant women, children under five, over-65s and vulnerable people not to eat runny eggs when eating out. Why? 👇 🧵
Excellent again
Mark Enser@ensermark.bsky.social · 2w ago*** PART THREE *** Parts 1 and 2 looked at what your GCSE results can tell you. Part Three: the ways well-intentioned leaders get it wrong, from changing KS3 too hastily to judging a teacher off one class. The stinger: when patience becomes avoidance. enserm.substack.com/p/part-three...
GCSE results are out tomorrow. The data tells you real things, and it can't be trusted on others. Some thoughts for middle leaders on what to actually claim from your results before drawing conclusions: enserm.substack.com/p/what-your-...
What Your GCSE Results Can (and Can’t) Tell You
Cutting through the data noise
enserm.substack.com
🌑☀️Does anti-system thinking correlate with disregarding official advice? Those who'd rather see our 'political and social institutions burn' than 'preserve and improve them' were more likely to look at the sun directly during the eclipse.
Ulez has delivered remarkable public health gains in a short period. Sadiq deserves more credit than he’s had for defying Labour pressure to U-turn after Uxbridge. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Ulez led to better lung size and function among London children, study finds
Researchers find capacity stunted by pollution restored after introduction of ultra-low emission zone
theguardian.com
🧵Thread on the fascinating phenomenon that is the multi-species foraging flock: If different species are competing for finite resources, why would they band together like this? Research suggests that by doing so they enhance their chances of finding food, flushing out insects, and avoiding predators
Ferris Jabr@ferrisjabr.bsky.social · 3w agoI love when multi-species flocks of birds descend upon the garden to bathe, forage, spar, and frolic. Today was a record-breaker for number of bird species in the garden simultaneously: chickadees, juncos, sparrows, wrens, goldfinches, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, nuthatches, and grosbeaks!
New build estates don't have to be bereft of wildlife (will be using ours to demonstrate ecology fieldwork to yr13 Applied!)
Quote from a 14 year old boy when we did an end of term lessons around possible net zero and climate policy changes 'did Andy Burnham even go to school?!'
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4w agoSadiq Khan calls on Andy Burnham to commit to climate action as pressure grows over North Sea oil
Was not expecting to be able to find (online!) the mark scheme for a 2014 exam in a defunct subject 🤯
There now follows a party election broadcast by the Count Binface Party, And if I do say so myself, it's a banger. #VoteBinface #Clacton
Nail on head again- we already have a broad range of vocational options at all levels- if they aren't being utilised/accessed to best effect, ministers need to spend the time analysing why and addressing that rather than reinventing the wheel (again)
Laura McInerney@missmc.bsky.social · last mo.Folks: these days the England system has BTECs, T-Levels, degree apprenticeships, a whole load of other apprenticeship assessments, and very flexible HE entry across a broad range of providers, including foundation years for those without L3. We already *have* a lot of pathways!
The outrage cycle prefers a simpler story. Schools must shape the entire fate of every child, whatever the economy, labour market or public services do. It is emotionally satisfying, politically convenient and structurally dishonest...
If I wanted to protect the most prestigious and highly paid jobs for the social groups who usually hold them I'd probably design an education system that discouraged poorer children from studying the entry qualifications for these jobs as early as possible..
Spot on- "so if you are advocating for vocational qualifications at 14, I think it is incumbent upon you to explain how you will stop all these problems happening again"
Daisy Christodoulou@daisychristo.bsky.social · last mo.I've weighed in on the great vocational education debate. From what we can see of the govt plans, I think they will repeat mistakes of the past. Also, we need to retire the phrase "parity of esteem". It's not helping. substack.nomoremarking.com/p/the-proble...
Schools are normally thought of as machines to optimise but it might be more helpful to imagine them as ecosystems to cultivate. Healthy schools renew the conditions that make future success possible. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
The ecology of schools
An ecological perspective explains why relationships, feedback and adaptation matter more than isolated interventions
open.substack.com
We even 'had to' turn down one of our own (excellent) yr10s doing one day with our science technician on a specific dry kit stock-taking task- because he was in school two days as his placement could only offer three days 🤷♀️
Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · last mo.And good luck finding businesses to offer meaningful work experience to hundreds of thousands of 14 and 15 year olds. As ever a failure to acknowledge that our big challenge with vocational ed is our labour market.
Maybe the issue isn't needing new quals etc, but returning to schools being free to offer from the great many existing courses that 'don't count' 🤔. We had a great mixed curriculum in the SEMH special school (full ability range) because we weren't constrained by perf. indicators.
Nancy@nancygedge.bsky.social · last mo.Allow schools to offer different qualifications (ones we already know about) outside of the GCSE to those who would benefit. Eg Functional English and Maths Level 1 and 2. Entry Levels in subjects that suit the schools themselves.
The death of the Saturday job. The child labour laws, ironically, are doing our children a disservice. Pupils who work alongside school are less likey to become NEET. Work experience is a poor proxy for the longer term benefits of a Saturday/holiday job. www.gov.uk/government/p...
The death of the Saturday job: the decline in earning and learning amongst young people in the UK
In 1997, 42 per cent of 16-17 year old students were studying and working. By 2014 this figure had declined to 18 per cent. This report describes and explains the long-term fall in young people combin...
gov.uk
Excellent analysis, certainly resonates with my experience of trying to make a good attempt at running a county-wide one. I think we only got two cohorts through before it ended.
Tes magazine@tesmagazine.bsky.social · last mo.With Andy Burnham outlining his big plan for new technical education pathways in schools, former DfE civil servant @garethconyard.bsky.social highlights the lesson the prime minister can learn from the failed 14-19 Diplomas
Just realised I've been commenting based on my experiences in land-based education (Diploma, PL, ELBS GCSE, C&G) and forgot I've taught several 'vocational' science quals too. GNVQ, anyone? DAS, Additional Applied, BTEC (NQF & QCF, not the RQF one though). We have been here so many times before.
Jon Severs@jonsevers.bsky.social · last mo.BREAKING: A huge shift in secondary education has been announced by @andyburnham.bsky.social - new technical routes offered in schools for 14 year olds.... by 2028. Announcing in the holidays with very little info is not a good way of selling it to the sector. www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Thread! As always. Also @physicsmrh.bsky.social a reference for us!
Ben Newmark@bennewmark.bsky.social · last mo.1. Babysitter or Bramblepicker? In the League of Gentlemen the Royston Vasey job retraining scheme was a joke because there were no good jobs in the area, hence the job seekers being offered a choice of Babysitter or Bramblepicker. This is a clever point about..
BREAKING: A huge shift in secondary education has been announced by @andyburnham.bsky.social - new technical routes offered in schools for 14 year olds.... by 2028. Announcing in the holidays with very little info is not a good way of selling it to the sector. www.tes.com/magazine/new...
New technical pathways in secondary schools by 2028, PM announces
Schools will be inspected by Ofsted on vocational offering, but sector leaders want more details on multiple aspects of the plans
tes.com
Today is my last day working with our very own 'Mr Physics'. Brett's knowledge and unending enthusiasm for teaching and learning (not just physics) have left a permanent impression on our team & his impact will be felt long after he has settled in to his new role. Nobody does dad jokes better, too!
Brett Handley@physicsmrh.bsky.social · 2mo agoGoing to be a long set of goodbyes for us this time ... (although we tend to do longest serving last ... and that might be me)